1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fodders and their preservation as feeds for domestic animals and more particularly to a new method for preserving fodders by coating them with a thin liquid coating which polymerizes, by means of an acid catalyst, on the surface of the fodder to form a solid, water insoluble, nutritive barrier to penetration by moisture, air, dusts, and other elements which can cause degradation of fodder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term fodder, as used herein, is defined as any coarse vegetablederived material used for feeding animals. Fodders may be fed to ruminant animals, such as cattle or sheep, and some fodders may be effectively fed to monogastric animals, such as horses, swine and poultry. Some of the fodders which are particularly useful for feeding animals include: hays, such as alfalfa, Timothy, and Orchardgrass; silages, such as whole corn plant, corn stover, and sorghum; vegetable wastes, such as soybean plants, and bean shells; and by-products from ethyl alcohol production by fermentation, such as Brewer's and Distiller's Grains.
Because fodders are harvested, or produced, at different rates than they are consumed, it is almost always necessary to store them for considerable periods of time before their use as animal feeds. Storage periods of six months and longer are usual, and storage times longer than twelve months sometimes occur. Fodders may be stored in bulk forms in open areas, such as hay stacks; in bulk in covered areas, such as silage pits; in bulk in confined areas, such as cylindrical, vertical silos; or in confined masses in open or covered areas, such as bales in open or covered areas. During storage portions of the feed value of fodders are lost by degradation. The degree of degradation depends to a large extent on the amount of penetration of the fodder by harmful elements. The term elements used herein means chemical and biological materials present in the atmosphere around the stored fodders, and includes moisture, air, dust, spores of fungi, biologically active chemicals, and other incidental materials. Elements causing degradation of the feed values of fodders may be natural or man made. Two of the most destructive elements are water and air. Degradation from the sun's rays can occur in fodders stored in uncovered areas. It is not unusual to lose about one-third of the feeding value of hay stored in uncovered areas for a season even if there is no significant fungal attack. Where fungal attack or putrefaction is significant, as is frequently the case, losses can be even higher.
Little art exists on the preservation of fodders by covering masses of the fodder to prevent penetration of harmful elements. Coating of individual particles of ruminant feed supplement chemicals to control their release has been reported by Hansen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,984, and Helgerson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,846 reported an improved feed and food composition for animals where urea and an aldehyde were reacted alone or in the presence of a catalyst to provide urea as an indirect protein source available for digestion by animals at a controlled rate.
Protection of fodder masses against degradation from fungal and microbial attack by application of ammonia throughout the mass to destroy, or deactivate, contained fungi and microbes was described by J. T. Huber and O. T. Santana in an article entitled Ammonia Treated Corn Silage, published in Journal of Dairy Science 55:489. This treatment represented a substantial step forward in the preservation of fodders, but unfortunately required the treatment of the whole body of the fodder with a substantial amount of biologically active and hazardous chemical. Chemicals, such as ammonia, may be lost by evaporation or leaching, allowing subsequent degradation. Chemical treatments throughout the mass of fodder provides no protection against penetration into the fodder by elements from outside, such as air, water, dust, fungi, bacteria, or hazardous chemicals.
A technique is in use now whereby silage is loaded into relatively shallow pits in the ground and covered with large plastic sheets. More recently sheets of thin plastic, usually polyolefin, have been shaped into slip-on covers for the protection of large round hay bales. These plastic sheet coverings also represent a step forward in the protection of fodders. Unfortunately, they are subject to penetration by moisture, air, and other elements under their edges, and are difficult to maintain in place during winds and rains. Another difficulty is obtaining the plastic sheets in the sizes and shapes necessary to fit the masses of fodders to be covered, since almost every fodder mass is different enough in size and shape to make a snug fit with a plastic sheet difficult. Since the plastic sheets have no feed value and might even cause harm to an animal if ingested by it, they must be removed before the fodder may be used. The plastic sheets, and the labor required to apply and remove them from fodder masses contribute substantially to the cost of fodders without contributing to their feeding value.
Thus, there are no teachings from the prior art which would provide a method for preserving fodders with a coating liquid which solidifies to form a water insoluble, nutritive barrier to penetration by moisture, air, dusts, and other elements which can cause degradation of the fodder.